That really saddens me, not that I've thought of Larry Lujack in years. But if you were a kid growing up in Chicago in the '60s and '70s (I'm not really sure when he quit -- I know he was certainly still broadcasting in the late '70s), WLS was what you listened to, and Larry Lujack WAS WLS.

And speaking of the Animal Stories segment, once a boa constrictor (or some other deadly snake -- maybe a python, but I think it was a boa) got loose in Aurora. This must have been late late '70s, because I was already out of college and working at the Aurora newspaper. Anyway, the snake got loose, was missing for days and of course Larry Lujack did a segment on it. He said something about how that must be scary for those living in Aurora and Little Tommy said he thought LIVING in Aurora must be scary all the time. As I grew up in Aurora and was living there at the time, it made me laugh.

I remember Larry on WCFL during my high school years, anybody remember the "Clunk Letter of the Day"?. Later, he paired with (Little) Tommy Edwards and their famous Animal Stories. Great entertainment.

I remember Superjock competed with Bob Sirott (Superstar) while Sirott did his stint on WLS. There was a great interview by Sirott with Lujack on PBS not long ago. Larry still exhibited the dry wit for which he was famous. RIP.

My dad taught and directed plays at Triton College. Back in the early Seventies he agreed to do a single-performance one-man show at Triton, based on the works of Chekov. This was a big deal to our family, because dad rarely took a role onstage. Mom took my brother and me out of school so we could go see him perform

As mom was driving us to Triton, we listened to WLS in the car. Larry Lujack's show was on, and Animal Stories began while we were on Irving Park Road near O'Hare Airport. That stretch of road was in pretty bad shape.

One of the stories was so funny, mom just lost it. She started laughing uncontrollably, and became so distracted that she failed to notice a huge pothole. We hit it hard and blew out a tire. Had to call the motor club and wait for assistance. That was a big deal in the days before cell phones.

"Everything gonna be okay, Lil Tommy?" "No, Uncle Lar, the car wasn't fixed in time to see dad's show."

At least iit made for a fun family story. We all loved Animal Stories.

I remember hearing Lujak the day after his son died. All the sarcasm and bravado were gone. As he took sympathetic calls from listeners, he lost it. He was really touched, and sounded like a different person. Heartbreaking.
Joan

About "Change of Subject."

"Change of Subject" by Chicago Tribune op-ed columnist Eric Zorn contains observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades, though not necessarily in that order. Links will tend to expire, so seize the day. For an archive of Zorn's latest Tribune columns click here. An explanation of the title of this blog is here. If you have other questions, suggestions or comments, send e-mail to ericzorn at gmail.com.
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Contributing editor Jessica Reynolds is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University Chicago and is the coordinator of the Tribune's editorial board. She can be reached at jreynolds at tribune.com.